Art of shelling coconuts



May 3i, E932.

H. C. MaCDUGALL ART oF SHELLING. COCONUT Fied Apri 1 27, 192s 1v sheets-sheet 1 lf/l ay 3l, w32. l H. C. MMDOUGALL 3,860,745

ART oF SHELLING coconu'rs Filed April 27. 1929 1v sheets-sheet 2 H. C. MaODOUGl-L ART OF SHELLING COCONUTS Fild April 2?, 1929 17 sheets-sheet 5 May 3B, 1932. H. c. MacDoUGALL ART OF SHELLING COCONUTS Filed April 27, 1929 17 Sheets-Sheet 4 May 31, 1932- H. c. MacDoUGALL y 1,869,745

ART 0F SHELLING COCONU'IS- Filed April 27, 1929 17 Sheets-Sheet 5 May b1, 1932- H. c. MacDouGALL ART SHELLING COCONUTS 17 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 27, 1929 .NNN NNN. NNN NNN NNN NNN NNN .NNN NNN NNN NNN NNN `NNN NNN NNN NNN NNN N NNN. m.%\ M l NNN NNN mlwl Hx NNN RR\ V ,N NNN N NN. N 1. NN NNN N NN N NNN NNN N @N NQN N NNN NNN N NNN i, m h H 1 I H l NNN N N4 NNN NNN NNN NNN NNN NN NNN NNN NNN I NNN NNN NNN Il. l NNN N LNNN HK NN NN NNN. NNN NNN .@N uw 1 V Ils N :i NNN N N Y N NNN NNNN. NNN NNN %&N 1 .NNNMNN r NNNNNN :NNN .NNN NNNN` NNN .NNN N NN N NNN a. NNN NNN NNN N NNN NNN NNN NNJNNN NN NNN NN NNN NNN NN NN NNN NNN NN NNN NN. I .||lil| x NNN May 31, 1932- H. c. MacDouGALL 1,860,745

' ART OF SHELLING GOCONUTS Filed April 27, 1929 17 Sheets-Sheet 7 El", l, "iiiwli l May 31, 1932 l H. c. MacDoucaALl` `1,860,745

ART OF SHELLING COCONUTS Filed April 27, 1929 17 Sheets-Sheet 8 .May 31,v 1932.

H. C. MaCDOUGALL ABT OF SHELLIIIG COCvON-UTS Filed April 27, 19,2"9 17 sheets-sheet 1o Nm. ww@ www.

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May 31,l 1932..

H. c. MaopouGALL 1,860,745

ART OF SHLLING COCONUTS Filed April 27. 1929 1'7 Sheets-Sheet 11 ART OF SAHELLING COCONUTS Filed`April 27. 1929 17 Sheets-Sheet 12 May 31, 1932. *l H C- MCljQUGALL 1,860,745

ART OF SHELLING COCONUTS Filed April 27. 1929 17 sheets-sheet 15 May 31, 1932 Hfc. MacDoUGALL 1,860,745

ART OF SHELLING COCONUTS Filed April 27, 1929 l? Sheets-Sheet 14 5f@ 14 .5% ff 557 figg 591W "x ai; M W

17 Sheets-Sheet 16 May 31, 11932. H` c. MacDoUGALL ART OF SHBLLING COCONUTS Filed April 27, 1929 H. C. MECDOUGALL ART OF SHELLING COCONUTS 17 Sheets-Sheet 17 Filed -April 27, 1929 B ATTORNEY I edges, thus bulging v20 at least `holding Patented May 31, 1932` UNITED sTAfTEs;

PATENT ortica y HUGH c. mcDoUGALr., oF WEs'r yNEW vom; NEW JERSEY, AssIeNoR 'ro vFaANKLIN BAKER comm, or HoBoxEN, NEW .TERSE'LA CORPORATION oF NEW JEEsEY` Ancor sHELLINc cocoNU'rs application. mea april 27, 192s. semi No. 358,481.

, -As to the process, the prlncipal novelty consists, (after preliminary steaming or oth-- er suitable softemng treatment, preferred 1n most cases) 1n cutting an annular groove or kerf in the nut near each end, thus dening a practical separation of each end or polar piece of the shell from the central zone, or belt; then pressing or compressing the central portion axially bg' force applied'to its t e central portion, or

it under compression, and while so bulgedor held, hammering'said central portion andy more-or-less concurrently,

expanding its ends, so that the central shell.

belt is cracked and split away; the ends or ole ieces or ca' s are then removed this 9 a removal being, in machine operations, usually accomplished or accompanied by applying compressive force edgewise to crack and disrupt these shell pieces. The meat remains intact and undamaged.

As to the machine, the principal novelty consists in a suitable feeder, or conveyor, having chucks or holders to facilitate the proper positionin of the nuts; grooving mechanism to which t e huts are supplied in proper-positions by the feeder; and cracking mechanism, to whichv the grooved nuts are' .de-

livered by the grooving mechanism, and in which the shells are cracked and freed from the meats.

'The characteristics and advantages of the invention are, further sufficiently explained in connection with .the following detail description of theV accompanying drawings,

which show certain exemplifying embodiments. After considering these examples,- skilled persons willunderstand that many variations maybe made, andV I contemplate the employment of anystructures or operations that are properly'within thevscope of the appended claims. In the drawings:

Fig. lis aside view of atypical coconut. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section.

Fig. 3 `is a perspective view ofthe nut after grooving.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar section, showing the belt bulging operation.

Fig. 6 shows the belt cracked and partly Fig. 7 shows the nut after removal of the shell belt.

Fig. 8 1s a longitudinal section o f one end of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one end, showing the shell cap' cracked or crushed by edge pressure.

's Fig. 10 is a section of thesame.

Y Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section of the shelled meat, or kernel. 1 v

Fig. 12 is a vertical, longitudinal section of u -the machine.

Fig. 13 is a top plan of a detail of the feed 75 conveyors. l Fig. 14 is a section at 14-14, Fi 13. v Fig. 15 is a section, in the plane o its shaft axis, of the grooving mechanism.

Fig. 16 is an enlarged section of one ofthe .0 grooving units. 1 Y

Fig. 17 4is a view from the left o'f Fig. 15 or 16.

Fig. 18 is`- a section at 18-18, Fig. 15.A Fig. 19 is a detail of the grooving conveyor. Fig. 20 is a section at 20-20, Fig. 19. Fig. 21 is an enlarged section of the cracking mechanism, in the plane21-21, Fig. 12. Fig. 22. is an elevation, in the plane 22f22,' Fig. 21, of one of the cracking units.

Fig. 23 is an enlarged detail thereof. Fig. 24 .is a section at 24-24, Fig. 21. Fig. 25 is a perspective view, enlarged, of cam mechanism for operating the shell belt' gripper's.

Figs.A 26 and 27 are vpartial axial sections of one of the cracking units, showing successive positions of the. arts.

Fig. 28 is an axia 'section of a vcomplete 100 cracking unit, with the parts in a position subsequent to that of-.Fi 27.

Figs. 29, 30 and 31 s ow other successive positions of the crackingunit, completing their operative cycle.

Fig. 32 is an elevation of one cam drum.. Fig. 33 is a diagram of thecam actions, or

ycyple, of the cracking mechanism.

i in Figs. 1 and 2, is approximately oval inw1 -identified (for convenience axial section; the dimensions vary consider-A ably, and there are also irregularities in the shell form, such as the local depressed portion, or lump 2, and .polar projections or elongations such as 2a; and thel machine is designed to allow for these variations'and irregularities. The shell 3 is thick,.hard and tough. The kernel or meat 4 inclosing the milk 4, lies closely against the inner shell surface and the shell, or shell fragments,

tend to adhere to it. On account 4of these characteristics, it has been diiicult and expensive, by previously known means or vmethods, to remove the shell while keeping the meat intact, asis desired for `many purposes and reasons, as undbrstood in the art. rlhe present process and machine have been developed -to quickly and economically shellF the nuts while preserving the meats in complete, intact condition, and without any appreciableinjuries. k

fter soaking or steaming to soften the shell, a circular kerf or groove 5 is iirst cut near leach en dfn the nut, the general plane of the groovesl being perpendicular to the nut axis, and preferably these grooves pass entirely through the shell, thusseparating it into three parts: a central part 6 hereafter as the body or belt, and two substantially similar end pieces, 7 hereafter called caps.` Althou hdivided, these 'parts are still quite tenacious y adherent to the meat, the caps b reason of adhesion, and the'belt'b'y: adheslon and its spherically arched form, enclosing a spherical section ofthe meat. The grooves are cut, so

, grooves are preferab -`that 1s, as here shown, each 1s, 1n section,

far Aas the process is concerned, by any suitable tool; 1n the present machine, thecutting tools-8 are'analogous to millin cutters, so

that the cross sectional form o the groove is determined by the form of the cutter. The of undercut form practically of narrow, cylindrical form, theA center of suchcylinder being at the axisof the nut; thus there -is produced at each end of the belt 6 an edge or ange 9 having its inner surface 10 longitudinally directed; n-

-t cipal sections order to insure the complete severance of the shell sections, a slight penetration of the cutters into'the meat ispractically unavoidable; such penetration produces'mnute ansuiiiciently to free it from the meat, an

any suitable means or prowhile broadly,

e employed for thls purpose,

cedure may `spec'iicall Il have found it most desirable to.

split the s ell by hammer blows; and to pre- Vent such hammering from damaging the meat, the belt is longitudinally compressed,- preferably to such'an extent as to bulge it, and especially to bulge its vfxluatorial portions, producing an inner clearance from the meat, as at 12, Fig. 5. This compression and/or bulging is produced- (so far as the process is concerned) by apphca'tionof any suitable tools or implements in or to the' groove formations 5, or t'o the belt-ends 9; in the machine, such implements are segmem' tal ippers 13, which have end-.portions 14, con orminglto the grooves and engaging the diagonalY groove-faces 15; and the gripper bodies may'also have shoulders 16, engagm the belt-ends 9. The grippers are move axially to effectA entry, and to produce the bulge (Fig. 5) the be t portion is hammered, by blows directed mainly upon its equatorial zone, with force suicient to s lit the shell` (Fig. 6), and concurrently, or t ereafter, the 'grippers are moved outward, or'radiall to similarly move the split end portions o the `shell belt and disrupt the shell into pieces 6, which fall away from the meat; 'I he s littin and removal of the belt portion o the she lfmay thus be a result ofhammering, or of disruptive radial movement'of end rtions thereof, or, preferably, may result om as"l the `combined operations. The nut is then in the condition shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

The end caps 7 are now grip peripherally (b means included 1n t emachine but not s own in the process views) an crushed by ressure directed radiall inward '(FigsQan 10) and the fragments all awa leaving the meatv 4, "(Fig. V11) rom le, y

freed of shell, intact, with' containe `milk,

yand -undamaged, ready for any desired utili zation or disposition.

The machine, which the rocess 'operations (as well as other or inci ental operations) as Aabove described, 'as

illustrated in Fig's. .12 to 33, is built upon or' abouta mainframe comprisinglegs 20, hori J zontal longitudinal 'members 21, vand cross in its 'actionperformsff' I members 22 and 23, withcross ties or braces.'

where necessary, 1

and con ts of threepring."12) 'a der 25, a groover 26 anda sheller or cracking mechanism 27. -While' intermittent drive might be employed for lsomevor all sections of the machine, continuous drive is here provided for so that the i nuts move cpntinuously and rapidly through the machine. The feeder (Figs. 12, 13 and'14) consists of a chain conveyor 28, carrying a series of regularly yspaced double chucks 29, each chuck consisting of a cup 30, to receive one end 'of the nut. The cups are carried oyrods 31, slidably'mounted in sleeves 32, of a yoke- 33, and prevented from rotating by a spline f connection 34. The lower part of each yoke 15 has vears 35,` secured as by screws to inner links 36, of the chain conveyor. The conveyor also'includes outer links 37, and pivot rods 38 carrying at their outer `ends rollers 39. The path of movement of the conveyor may vary, but preferably,: for reasons which willappear, its upper, active stretch 40, Fig. 112, moving in the direction of the arrow, includes a horizontal -portion 414 located at convenient height for one -or usually anlunber of workmen located alon it, to place the coconuts in the chucks. he machine can and usually will be operated at high speed and usually therefore two or more workmen may be required to insure the filling of all of the chucks as they advance,and the loading stretch 41 ofthe conve or will be made as long as necessary for t at purpose, as indicatedby a portion broken away in the drawings. At the end of the horizontal stretch there is an upwardly inclined portion inv order to bring the nuts to a. desired position for delivery to the grooving mechanism 26, when that is in the location shown. For this conveyor arrangement, it is supported by three pairs of sprockets 42, 43 and 44, mounted on shafts 45, 46 and 47 ,shaft 45 isv carried in bearings at the top of tall standards 48,A

and shafts 46 and 47, are carried by shorter standards 49 and 50. The sprockets have notches 51. in which the'chain rollers 3 9, en'- gages; and the bend in the conveyor between the straight portion 41 and the upwardly inc lned -portion `52', is guidedor directed by lower ide rails 53, and the upper guide rails 54, which engage the chain rollers 29. The return stretch of the conveyor isguided by the sprockets 43. These are also the driving elements'of the conveyor and are themselves driven by a gear 55, on their shaft 46, engag` supported in bearings 49below frame mem-- bers 60.

on frame uprights 20, and jdriven by an independent electric motor or 'ajpullev and belt 63, from a cx' unte`rshaft.- iI This'shaft 61 is connected through double-reduction gearing and "s a countershaft 64, to shaft58, for the feeder conveyor 28, just above mentioned.

mechanism proper. f The conveyor 90,

ing a gear on a countershaft 57, to a shaft 58,

The chuck cups areoperated by levers 65, having forks 66 en agmg studs 67, on the cups andv fulcrume at 68, on the yoke. Springs 69, are stretched between pins 70, on

the levers and' pins 71, inserted in the yoke,

'tomove the cups convergently until stopped by washer 72 on the ends of rods 31. The lower ends of the levers have rolls 73 which cooperate with cams 74, connected to upper parts of the standards 48, and acting lon the vrolls when the chuck reaches the, position shownl at the right of shaft 45, in Fig. 12, as the nut held in the chuck is about to be graspedby grippers on the conveyor of the grooving mechanism, to move the levers and retract the cups outwardly, thus freeing the nut, which passes on in the grooving conveyor. The cups are then held in retracted positions byl detent mechanism consisting of bell crank levers 75, fulcrumed on pins 71, above mentioned and having their short arms 76, connected by a link 77. l Each lever has a tooth 78, to cooperate with a 'pin V79 on one of the levers 65. VIn the case of the lever at the left of Fig. 14 this pin may be an extension of spring holding pin or screw and in the case of the lever show n at the right of Fig; 14, 79, is the' detent pin. The long arms of the. levers have springs 80, urging them to engage the detent pins, and these lever arms extend to convenient positions for opof the levers 7 5, is moved, up or down as the case may be,.to release levers 65, whereupon springs 69, act to move the cups inward and engage the nut' and hold `it in properly centent mechanism', ready to receive a nut. er the nut is located between thecups either tered relation in respect tothe conve or, the i range of movement of the chuck mem rsxbeing such as to accommodate the varlations 1n nut length. As each chuck reaches the position at the-right of Fig. 12, the nut is released in the manner above described and passes. on in the grooving conveyor, for the grooving action.

The grooving mechanism, Figs. 12, and 15 to 20, includes a conveyor and grooving 12,/15, 19 and 20, consists of chain links 91,

connectedb cross bars 92, with spacer sleeves 93, and having rollers 94, on their outer ends. A The, rollers engage in the tooth s aces of upper sprockets 95, carried by a sha 96, mounted `in bearings in frame uprights 97, and lowz er sprockets 98, lixed'on a shaft '99, which runs in bearings in thescme uprights. Shaft 99, has a sprocket 100,` and chain 101, by

which it, is driven from shaft 58, so that it' and the grooving conveyor'are driven at the 'l same speed as the feed conveyor. i

lao. 

